Aviel:“That
was Jesus right?I
wasn’t just seeing things, that was Him right?”

Cleopas:“I
was going to ask you the same thing.I saw Him, it
was Jesus.But
where did He go, He was sitting right there.His food is
still there and warm.”

Aviel:“I
don’t know…But
we must return to Jerusalem and tell the disciples that
we have seen Jesus.I wonder if they will even believe us.”

Cleopas:“Hold
on, I want to talk about this for a second.I want to make
sure we’re together on everything that just as it
happened.”

Aviel:“Ok,
so lets start when we left Jerusalem and were walking on
the road to Emmaus.”

Cleopas:“Yes,
lets start there.Well
we were just walking along just you and me, enjoying our
time together and talking about what had happened to
Jesus.”

Aviel:“That’s
right but remember we were both really sad about Jesus
dying…”

Cleopas:“Yes,
it had been a tough couple days.”

Aviel:“I
remember as we were walking, I first saw this traveler
wrapped in his tunic sitting on the side of the road.
Then as we got closer, this traveler stood up and asked
to walk with us.We
of course said yes and he joined us.As we
continued walking and discussing about everything that
had happened, this man stopped us and asked us what were
talking about.”

Cleopas:“I
remember you and I both stopped dead in our tracks and
turned to him, thinking he was crazy! I even asked him
how he was the only visitor in Jerusalem that hasn’t
heard about everything that had happened.Then this man
just responds, what things?”

Aviel:“Yes
- are you kidding me… He has no idea what just
happened!”

Cleopas:“I
remember I looked at him and said, ‘Well sir, we are
talking about Jesus of Nazareth who is was a great man
in so many ways.People
thought he was a prophet because of the things he did
and said. We definitely saw that he was something
special and incredible, he did things that I thought
only God could do.We believed him when he said that he was the son
of God.

But the chief priests and rulers condemned
him to death and crucified him - God knows why. Which everyone thought could never happen
because we believed that he was our Messiah, our Savior,
our King.We
really thought and hoped that he was the one to redeem
Israel.

But I remember telling him - Now he’s dead
and it’s the third day since these things happened so He
really is gone and hope is lost.”

Aviel:“I remember I then told him about what
happened this morning.”

Cleopas: “Yes, you told
him about the women.What exactly did you say again?”

Aviel:“I told him that some
women shocked everyone with some unbelievable news.These went to
the tomb early in the morning to prepare Jesus’ body for
burial but when they did not find his body, they came
back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels,
who said that Jesus was alive. Some
of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it
just as the women had said, but He wasn’t there.”

Cleopas:“After
everything that’s just happened I’m starting to think
the women were right.”

Aviel:“Me
too!Well
after I told him about the women, I nudged the traveler
with my elbow and asked him how he missed all of this
and then I looked up at his face expecting to see utter
amazement etched across his face.But instead
his face had no expression.Then suddenly
he spoke…”

Cleopas:“Yes
it was crazy!I
remember that he said, ‘How foolish are you, and how
slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken!Did
not the Christ have to suffer all these things and then
enter his glory?’

Were you as shocked as I was Aviel?I didn’t know
what to say, this traveler was so right.Jesus did seem
to have everything planned, I mean he told all of us
that he was going to die before he was ever arrested.

But it was so hard to believe that, Jesus
had just been murdered.Hope was gone and Aviel and I had no idea what to
do.So
Aviel and I just stayed silent as the three of us walked
the last mile to Emmaus.”

Aviel:“Well
after this crazy statement by the traveler and a mile of
silence, we finally entered Emmaus, the traveler said
goodbye and continued to walk on.I yelled out
to him and invited him to come eat dinner and stay with
us for the night.He
agreed and we went back to my house for dinner. As we
sat down to eat, the traveler took the bread.He lifted it
to the sky blessed in the name of the LORD and then he
broke it.”

Cleopas:“Yes
it was amazing!Suddenly,
it felt like a fog had been lifted from my head and my
eyes were opened and cleared.And we saw
that this man was in fact Jesus.He’s not dead
but alive just like the women told us He was.Then suddenly
he disappeared.I
can’t believe it!He
was with us the entire time and somehow he missed
him?!?!How
could we be so blind?”

Aviel:“Yes,
I can’t believe it.But, where did He go?”

Cleopas:“Who
cares, we’ve got to go and tell the disciples back in
Jerusalem!”

Aviel:“You
are right, lets go!You know looking back we should have believed
Jesus when He said He was going to die but then rise
again, He was telling the truth.I hope the
disciples will believe us.” (1)

_______________________________

What we’ve just shared comes from Luke 24:13-35.On the day of
Jesus’ resurrection there is a sequence of events that
takes place as Jesus reveals Himself to His followers.

Early
in the morning a group of women arrive a the tomb.Find the stone
rolled away.

(cartoon)“The
original rock… and roll.”

They
go into the tomb and find it empty.While they’re
trying to figure out what that means, two angels tell
them that Jesus is risen from the dead.The women go
back to the disciples with the news.

Peter
and John go to the tomb.Find it empty except for Jesus’ burial clothes.They go away
trying to process what they’ve just seen.

Later
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene.She goes to
tell the others that Jesus is alive.Others who are
still mourning and weeping at Jesus’ death.Others who
don’t believe her.

Even
the guards - who’d had a front row seat to the
resurrection - they went and reported to the chief
priests and elders what they’d seen.The chief
priests paid them off - bought their silence.Told them to
tell people that Jesus’ disciples had stolen His body.The original
conspiracy theorists.

Then there was Cleopas
- who is named in the Luke account - and another man -
who we’ve taken the license to call Aviel.In Luke 24 -
sometime that afternoon - these two men are walking from
Jerusalem to Emmaus.

Which
you can see on the map here is a town all of about 7
miles to west of Jerusalem.

While these two men
are walking - they’re discussing what’s taken place in
Jerusalem over the last few days - talking about Jesus’
crucifixion - the report they’d heard from the women
about the empty tomb - trying to make sense out of what
they’d hoped - what they’d seen - what they’d heard.

While
they’re walking Jesus joins them - enters into the
conversation - challenges their interpretation of what
they’ve seen - explains what Moses and the prophets had
said about the Messiah what they’d been seeing.

When the reach Emmaus
Jesus gets invited to dinner.At some point
Jesus takes the bread - blesses it - breaks it - gives
it to them.Suddenly
there’s this spiritual light bulb “a hah” moment and
they get it.And
Jesus is gone.He
removes Himself from their sight.After which
comes the conversation you’ve just seen.With some
license.

The result comes in
Luke 24:33:“And
they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.And they found
the eleven and those who were with them gathered
together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has
appeared to Simon!”Then they told what had happened on the road, and
how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

Mark’s account is
much briefer:“After
these things He [Jesus] appeared in another form to two
of them, as they were walking into the country.And they went
back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.”(Mark 16:12,13)

Imagine
telling people the greatest news in history.Telling people
- people in despair and confusion -who need hope
- who are just barely hanging on - people who should
already want to hear that news - should be lapping it up
- believing you.

Imagine
telling people the reality of what you’ve experienced
with Jesus - and having people just not go there.“We
don’t believe you.”Or, like so many today:“What
you believe is what you believe.Everyone has
their own beliefs.It’s all good.”Which is still, “I don’t believe you.”But it’s just PC.

Been
there?

Reading
down through the sequence of what comes next - Jesus
appears to the disciples and they finally believe.Later in the
next few weeks Jesus appears to hundreds of people who
come to believe in the reality of His resurrection.

Then - 40 days after
the resurrection - Jesus is with His disciples on the
Mount of Olives towards Bethany.Jesus tells
them they are to be witnesses of what they’ve seen and
experienced and know to be true about Jesus - witnesses
in Jerusalem and to the end of the earth.Witnesses as
we also are called to be witnesses of what we know and
have experienced because of Jesus.(Acts 1:4-11)

In processing all that - thinking about what we can take with us
this morning - there are two take aways that we can hang
on to.

First:Witnessing
is an us thing.Sharing
the good news of the gospel.That’s what we
do.

That doesn’t guarantee
that we’re going to share and people are going to
believe.The
two men witnessed and even the disciples didn’t believe.We can share
with our family and friends and people we work with and
people God leads us to share with and they may not
believe.But,
we’re still called to witness.

Let’s be clear on the
message.Pop
quiz.We
ought to be able to do this in our sleep.

John 3:16.The message of
the Bible - the gospel in a nut shell.Let’s repeat
it together:“For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life”(John 3:16 NASB)

First,
there’s good news.God
loves you.We
are the world.

God
loves us each of us.No matter what we may think of ourselves.No matter what
others may think of us.No matter what our sins or our attitude
towards God or whatever our baggage or hang-ups or
failures or weaknesses.Whether we accept the truth of His love or not -
He does love you.

Second
- there’s bad news.We’re
perishing.

We’re born separated from God.We live
confirming that reality - doing what separates us from
God.What
the Bible calls sin.And, because God is morally pure - holy - and
we’re not - God is justified in removing us from His
presence forever.That’s
perishing.

The word “perish” means
to be utterly destroyed.That’s not good.The reality is ongoing forever destruction that
just continues on and on and on without end.

The contrast to that is
described by the words “eternal life” - living forever
with God.Joy
- peace - enjoying the fullness of God’s presence.Forever.Whatever
horror “perish” is - eternal life with God is the
opposite.

The bad news is that
every one of us - apart from Jesus - because of our sin
- every one of us is perishing - facing eternity without
God.

Then there’s more good
news:Jesus!God
gave His only Son.

The God
Who created everything - God - humbles Himself to take on Himself what it means to be one of
us - minus the sin part.Why and how goes beyond our ability to
comprehend.But, God is God.And, that is
exactly what Godchooses to do.

God so loves each of us
that He gave His Son be betrayed and beaten and brutalized.Gave Him to die on a cross - crucified - horribly.Gave
Him to deal with whatever needs to be dealt with because
of our sin.

Jesus dies taking the
penalty and wrath and judgment of God - taking on
Himself what should have been leveled against us.Jesus doing
whatever needs to be done to make us right with God.Then Jesus
resurrects proving that He can.

Then:You
Choose:“whoever believes.”God lays out His offer of salvation for us.But each of us
needs to individually choose how we’re going to respond
to God’s offer.

God promises that
whoever will respond to His offer with belief -
welcoming what God has done - rejecting and turning from
their sin - repenting and trusting Jesus as their Savior
- God promises - that we will not perish - but we will
have eternal life - life now and forever with God.

That - in a nut shell -
is what we witness to.

We may have the
opportunity to share about how we came to trust in
Jesus.We
may have the opportunity to share why we believe what we
believe.We
may have the opportunity to discuss our doctrine and
theology.Which
is all good.

But witnessing of the
good news is sharing a very simple basic truth:Because of sin
we’re toast - forever.But God in Jesus offers to save us.Turn from your
sin and trust Him.

We are to witness - to
share that truth even if we’re not believed.

Our second take away
is this:Salvation
is a God thing.

The women - the two
guys walking to Emmaus - the disciples - hundreds of
others in those first four weeks - only come to belief
because of Jesus revealing Himself to them.Each of us
only comes to faith in Jesus because of the work of God
in our lives.

I would suspect that
this is true of most - if not all - of us here.At one time or
another we’ve heard God saying, “I want you to share the gospel with
that person.”Or,
“You need to talk to that person
about Jesus.”Or, “You need encourage that person by
sharing what I’m doing in your life.”And we end up playing mental mind games
with God - or struggling within ourselves - about why we
can’t do that.

Anybody else here with
me on that?

Isn’t it true that most
of the time that internal dialogue centers on us?Just saying.

Whether we feel
adequate or we’re fearful of what the response might be
or whatever reason we convince ourselves of.Isn’t it true
that most of the time that dialogue centers on us as a
reason to hold back?

When Jesus tells the
disciples they’re going to be witnesses He tells them
that the power for that is going to come from the Holy
Spirit.(Acts
1:8)

Salvation is a God
thing.It’s
what goes on between whoever’s hearing the gospel and
God.Not
us.Salvation
is about what God is doing in that person’s life.The results
are up to God.Not
us.

Meaning that being
called to witness and trusting God for the results ought
to take a whole load of pressure off of us.Witnessing
isn’t about us.It’s
about God.

It’s not about the
answers we give or the slickness of the presentation or
whatever…Salvation
is a work of God.Not
Steve, not Andrew, not any one of us.

The first step of
witnessing of the good news of the resurrection means
saying “Yes” when God calls us to step up.

So, maybe when we’re
hearing that voice of God prompting us to say something
or be intentional about our witness - like when we do
survey on Saturdays - just saying…we ought to
start praying, “God - Holy Spirit - give me the
strength.Give
me the words.Get
me past myself and onto what you’re doing here.”Praying and stepping up and seeing what God
will do.

(cartoon)“Yes!”

We’re witnesses of the
greatest news in history… period.

We’re like those two
men.We’ve
personally encountered Jesus.We’ve
witnessed the astounding reality of His resurrection.Embraced the
reality of the good news.For most of us this isn’t our first Resurrection
Sunday Service of Worship.So now what?

Sometime this week God
will prompt you to step-up and witness of the
resurrection.Just
know that He will.We need to step-up trusting Him for the results.In fact,
here’s a challenge.Don’t wait.Ask Him for the opportunity.Be looking for
it and open to it.Pray and see what astounding thing He does
through you.